China, creep feed and clean-up in Pig Progress 5
The latest edition of Pig Progress is available online. This edition takes a closer look at China’s livestock and meat trade between 2017-2023, and considers the top 10 feed additives to improve gut health in pigs. In South Africa, vultures are welcome at a pig farm. This and much more.
China’s livestock and meat trade, 2017-2023
African Swine Fever and Covid-19 had a far-reaching impact on China’s meat production and trade. On pages 6-9, Pig Progress analyses the dynamics in foreign trade between 2017 and 2023, and provides a forecast for the current decade.
Review British Pig & Poultry Fair: The UK prefers to move on after Brexit
If one had to express recovery in the most careful way possible, the words were found at the British Pig & Poultry Fair, held in the UK in May. Was the crisis over? Well, yes, sort of… Can we expect investments? Possibly. And Brexit? It appeared to be long forgotten. Pig Progress editor Vincent ter Beek gives a report on pages 12-14.
Column: Influencing creep feed intake
It is important to get every piglet eating before weaning, says columnist Francesc Molist, a nutritionist expert and manager of R&D at Schothorst Feed Research in the Netherlands. On page 15, he unpacks 4 factors that can influence creep feed intake.
Farm visit: Vultures do the clean-up on this pig farm
At a pig farm in South Africa, pig carcasses are given to the area’s vultures, which are listed as an endangered species in the country. This also bodes well for the farm, which can easily and efficiently discard the carcasses. Read more on pages 18-20.
Health an nutrition become one on finisher pigs
“Nutrition for the sustainable and efficient production of fattening swine.” That long tagline aimed to describe the subject of the EMEA Swine Days, held in May in Germany. Yet the words only captured half of the message of organising company DSM-Firmenich. As developments advance at a rapid pace, nutrition and health appear to be one and the same. Pig Progress editor Vincent ter Beek gives a report on pages 24-25.
Top-10 feed additives to improve gut health
Various feed additives can be used to adjust the nutritional components of pig diets and restore gut microbial balance. This article on pages 28-29 discusses the top 10 feed additives.
Column: Sampling size for welfare audits
Pig welfare is of growing concern for producers worldwide. Various systems have been put in place to assess that welfare standards do in fact get applied on-farm. But, how are the assessment systems assessed? Monique Pairis-Garcia, associate professor and veterinarian, shares her views on page 34.
